Second Recipe

Here's a type of cake that was completely new to us: hot milk sponge cake.
Most of the leavening (what makes it rise) comes from air beaten into the eggs rather than air beaten into butter.  This also uses baking powder so the results are more reliable than a chiffon-type cake.
The result is a light and airy crumb, as opposed to the dense crumb of a pound cake.
I think it sort of plain all by itself.
It reminds me of a Twinkie and really needs cream filling or something fun.

Grandma and Grandpa brought us a box of peaches. YUM!
I peeled and sliced those up and put a layer on the bottom of the pan.
I spread a layer of oatmeal/crumb topping over that.

Oatmeal /crumb topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 to 2 sticks cold butter
Mix with fingers until it is combined and resembles large pea-sized crumbs.
I gently poured 3/4 of the cake mix over that. 
I baked the remaining batter in a small pan and let the kids eat it
like a pack of wild monkeys.

*General instructions, see previous post.
In fact, please read that one first!

Prepared 9 inch round pan*
350 degree oven*
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder  (sift together in bowl)

1/4 cup  milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter *room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs* room temperature
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar

Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan.
As soon as the butter is melted, remove from heat and add vanilla.
Set aside.

Using the whisk attachment for a stand mixer, or the regular beaters for a hand mixer,
whip the eggs, egg yolks and sugar at high speed for 3 minutes.
The mixture will triple in volume and turn pale yellow and shiny.
Reduce to medium speed and mix 3 more minutes.

On low speed, sprinkle 1/4 cup of the flour mixture at a time.
 Mix completely and repeat.  Repeat.
The batter will be thick and very stiff.

Pour half the batter into the empty flour bowl.
Pour the warm milk mixture into the batter and stir gently.
Slowly pour the combined mixture back into the mixing bowl and fold gently but quickly.

Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 30 - 40 minutes.
The edges should pull away from the pan and the toothpick should come out clean.

When pan is cool enough to handle, run a knife around the edge
and turn out onto a plate.  Flip onto your serving plate.

For the peach cake, leave in pan and cut pieces.  Serve them peach side up.

Prepare to Succeed - Cake Basics

Do not throw a cold lump of butter in your mixing bowl and dump all the sugar in at once and think everything's going to be OK.

You have to do it right.  There's a bunch of scientific, chemistry-like reasons for all the following information.  I do not know any of it.
I did not take Chemistry.
I do know that cake batter deserves to be treated well and your cake will be the better for it.

1. ALWAYS read your recipe before you do anything.
2. If the recipe says "unsalted butter," use it.  Do not try to sneak salted butter or Shedd's Spread in there.
3. Use the right pan.  Size does matter, and Teflon is not our friend.
4. Center the rack.  Put your empty pan in your cold oven.  Adjust the rack so the body of the pan is in the middle of the oven.
5. Preheat the oven.  PLEASE.
6. Prepare the pan.  Grease and flour or use cooking spray with flour.  Trace and cut parchment paper to fit the bottom and you'll always get the whole cake out.
7. Never open the oven during baking.  And don't let anyone stomp around the kitchen, either.


Here's the Recipe:

Sour Cream Pound Cake
 "The best cake I've ever had." - R.W. (colleague)

10 inch tube pan  (straight sides, tube in the middle, should hold at least 16 cups of batter)

2 sticks unsalted butter (ROOM TEMPERATURE!)
3 cups sugar
5 large eggs (INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR SIZE)
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (NO LIGHT OR FAT FREE - THIS IS A CAKE, FOR PETE'S SAKE)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon orange extract

Here's how to do it:

Cream Butter and Sugar:  To dissolve the sugar into the fat, you must have room temperature butter.
Set out butter (and eggs) at least an hour before you are ready to begin.
Mix butter alone for a minute or two until it is smooth.  Add 1/2 cup of sugar at a time, beating for 1 minute in between.  Use medium speed.  I clean things while I'm waiting.

Add Eggs:  One at a time, please, cracking over a small bowl to catch any rebel egg shells.
Mix in between for 1 minute.

Sift together Flour and other Dry ingredients as directed: Actually, you may whisk them together in a seperate bowl.  When measuring, please scoop and level. The back of a knife will work just fine.

Alternately add Flour Mixture and Sour Cream: Start with 1 cup of flour using the lowest speed.  Mix and then add 1/2 cup of the sour cream. Repeat and end with the third cup of flour. Mix again on medium speed for a minute or two.

Add Extracts: Mix on medium -high for another two minutes. 

Whew, you made it.  And, if you cleaned up in between steps, you have a clean kitchen.

Pour Batter into Prepared Pan: Pour the batter, easy now, into the pan and let it flow to the other side.
Never fill it to the rim.  Go no higher than 1 1/2 inches below the rim.  Using your rubber scraper or spatula, even out the batter.  Tap the pan gently to release air pockets, which are the enemy.

Bake 90 Minutes:  Yup, one and a half hours.  Remember, no peeking.  It's a good cake and it will behave.  You may check the cake 10 minutes before the timer will go off.  Gently pull out the rack halfway.  Don't yank the cake pan out or it could all collapse.  Use a toothpick, skewer or long knife, poke into the middle of the cake ring.  If it comes out gooey, keep her cookin'.  If it comes out clean, she's done.

Let it cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes.  When the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan and it is cool enough to handle, it's time to remove it from the pan.  gently run a butter knife around the inside of the pan.  (if you used a decorative Bundt pan, skip this part and hope you used enough PAM)

Invert a cake rack onto top of pan.  Place one hand firmly on the top and in one motion, flip the pan so the rack is holding the cake.  Gently lift the pan up and peel off the parchment paper.  Place your cake plate and put it upside down on the bottom (which is at the top) of the cake.  Flip it again and now your cake is on the plate with the top at the top.  Cool completely before covering to avoid steam sogginess.

This cake is dense and moist and no one will know it has sour cream in it.  My kids don't suspect a thing.
And Julia's not telling.

Please try this at home...we are amatuers.

We do not know what we're doing.
I am the Mom and I'm 40.  I have 5 kids, so I've been cooking forever.
She is the daughter and she's 11.  She is the master of Top Ramen.

We love to watch cooking shows.  We love to eat food.
She does not eat vegetables.  You do the math.
CAKE

Personaly, I can live without it, especially the bakery junk.  I hate frosting.
BUT, I love to bake. 
She can't get enough frosting or buttercream roses.  And she's quite handy in the kitchen
and always cheerfully helps out.

So this is our journey.  No more Duncan Hines and bye-bye Betty.

Here we go!